Jan. 3, 2010
NORFOLK, Va. - Without the service of a pair of starters, the Purdue wrestling team still managed to turn in a 1-2 effort at the Old Dominion Duals, including a near upset of the 24th-ranked host Monarchs. The Boilermakers' lone win was a 30-9 rout over UNC Greensboro, while they fell to Rider University, 25-10, and were edged out by Old Dominion, 17-14. Junior Luke Manuel was the lone Boilermaker to go 3-0 on the day, pushing his season win total to 30.
The Boilermakers opened the day with a patchwork effort against Rider, losing seven of 10 matches without five starters in the lineup. Ranked juniors Luke Manuel and Logan Brown and sophomore Matt Fields scored the three wins for the Old Gold and Black as Manuel, ranked seventh in the nation at 174 pounds, notched an 11-0 major decision over Jim Resnick, Brown, tabbed 12th in the country at 197 pounds, edged out No. 19 Tyler Smith, 3-1, and Fields scored a 6-0 decision over Ilyass Elmsaouri at 125 pounds.
After Fields opened the match with his win to give the Boilermakers a 3-0 lead, Rider went on a five-match win streak to run the lead to 19-3 in the Broncs' favor. After 125-pound freshman Cashé Quiroga surrendered a 16-4 major decision at 133 pounds, sophomore Jake Fleckenstein was forced to injury default and give up six team points. Seniors Nick Bertucci, Sam Patacsil and Jason Martin all lost close ones for the Boilermakers at 149, 157 and 165 pounds, including a hard-fought 2-1 tie-break decision by Patacsil. Manuel broke the Boilermakers' scoring drought at 174 with his shutout win, but Rider bounced back at 184 pounds with another close win as Mike Ward topped junior David Pisarcik, 5-4. Brown's win over Smith at 197 capped the Purdue scoring as freshman Adam Walls dropped a narrow 2-0 decision to 17th-ranked Ed Bordas at heavyweight.
Despite getting starters Juan Archuleta and Nick Corpe into the lineup against Old Dominion, the Boilermakers still came up just shy of the win. The Monarchs put Purdue in a quick hole as fourth-ranked James Nicholson notched a technical fall over Fields for the 5-0 lead. Quiroga and Archuleta put the Boilermakers on top, 6-5, with back-to-back decision victories at 133 and 141 pounds as Quiroga topped Justin LaValle, 6-3, and Archuleta scored a 4-2 sudden victory over Craig Wilson. Old Dominion scored a pair of big wins at 149 and 157 as John Nicholson edged Bertucci, 5-4, at 149, while Joey Sheridan slipped past Patacsil at 157, 5-3. Tenth-ranked 165-pounder Chris Brown of Old Dominion stretched the team lead to 14-6 with a 13-7 decision over Martin, but the Boilermakers came storming back with consecutive wins at 174, 184 and 197 to even the team score, 14-14. Manuel needed sudden victory to defeat Eric Decker, 3-1, but the Boilermakers were docked a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct after the win, giving Purdue just eight points after three wins. Corpe followed with a solid 5-3 win over Joe Budi at 184 pounds. Brown capped the run, knocking off his seventh ranked opponent of the season with a 6-0 victory over 13th-ranked Jesse Strawn. The final bout of the match was a thriller as Walls and Old Dominion's Grant Chapman went all the way to a tie-breaker, where Chapman escaped with a 3-2 victory to give the Monarchs their second straight win over the Boilermakers.
Purdue revved its engines in the final match of the day, dishing out a 30-9 beating of UNC Greensboro for the Boilermakers' lone team victory of the afternoon. The Old Gold and Black won the first seven matchups of the contest, racing out to a 30-0 lead and leaving no doubt in the team outcome. Six of the seven wins added bonus points to the team total as they scored a fall, a technical fall and four major decisions. Fields kicked off the match with a 4:34 pin of UNCG's Eric Chandler, moving himself into a tie for Purdue's falls lead with his sixth of the season. Quiroga, Archuleta and Bertucci rolled out consecutive major decisions as Quiroga knocked out a 17-5 win over Manuel Ramirez at 133, Archuleta bested Casey Boyle, 13-5, and Bertucci blanked Matt Barbo, 14-0. Patacsil posted his team-best fifth technical fall of the season at 157, using all seven minutes in a 19-4 win over Alejandro Soto-Perez, and Martin scored his first win of the day at 165, taking down Edwin Hojilla, 7-3. Manuel capped his 3-0 day and improved to 30-2 on the season with a 15-6 major decision over Byron Sigmon at 174 pounds.
The Spartans reduced the damage at 184, 197 and 285 as Andrew Saunders edged Corpe, 4-3, Ryan Sughrue toppled Pisarcik at 197, 7-1, and Peter Sturgeon defeated Walls, 9-2. Purdue improved to 2-0 all-time against UNC Greensboro, and 8-3 this season in dual competition.
The Boilermakers have next weekend off and some time to get healthy before the Ashland Wendy's Duals on Sunday, Jan. 17. There Purdue is scheduled to face the host Eagles, eighth-ranked Maryland and 13th-ranked Kent State.